


when the bones are good, the rest don't matter

by Magepaw



Series: Niles being Niles [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alcohol, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Baggage, Family Bonding, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Nohr | Conquest Route, Post-Canon, Post-War, Same-Sex Marriage, Secret Relationship, Support Conversations (Fire Emblem), Zero | Niles being Zero | Niles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:14:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25560421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magepaw/pseuds/Magepaw
Summary: A series of post-war conversations Niles has with Elise, Camilla, and Xander, about his future with Leo.
Relationships: Leon | Leo/Zero | Niles
Series: Niles being Niles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1617055
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	when the bones are good, the rest don't matter

**Author's Note:**

> for #nilesweek2020 on twitter~ meant to be part of my [leoniles collection](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9255563?view_full_work=true) but it went long enough to be a standalone! inspired directly by various support convos and the past royal family unpleasantness/concubine wars/inheritance etc. [title](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awp5aaMwlLw).
> 
> \- post conquest timeline with king xander, discussion of endgame deaths  
> \- leo doesn't really show up, its about niles and his realization that the war is over and he doesn't have to hide their love anymore~

* * *

**Elise**

"Piece of shit," Niles growled through his teeth.

Normally crushing something fragile between his hands would elicit a more pleasurable reaction, but in this case, it was just frustrating. He hurled the broken staff pieces to the courtyard stones with a resounding clatter. A bright giggle sounded from behind him. He sighed and turned to face his audience.

"You're not supposed to swear around me, remember?" Elise chirped. She was perched on the edge of the garden wall with her petticoats piled around her, small heels kicking idly in the air as she watched him. "Comport yourself like a gentleman in the presence of a princess. Or Effie will crush your skull like an apple, unless Camilla beats your ass first."

Niles rolled his eye. "Yeah, yeah, _milady_. Your threats are duly noted."

Elise smirked, countenance bright with mischief. "Much better! Now what seems to be the problem?"

Niles groaned and aimed a bitter kick at the splintered staff. "Lord Leo's got me studying healing, but it's a major pain in the ass. I can do first aid just fine! If I can stitch your holes shut, what do I need a staff for? To knock you out first?"

"You used to complain to me about riding horseback, but you don't suck at that anymore," Elise ticked off on her fingers. "And before that it was reading lessons. Before that it was archery—"

"Yeah, yeah. This is different though," Niles admitted sourly. His hellish education was never over in Lord Leo's eyes. Overachiever. "You royal kids are all born with magic in your veins, but I don't think I have the aptitude that Lord Leo seems to think I do. This body wasn't born with much to offer."

"You're still studying on your own… you haven't told Leo you're struggling, huh," Elise guessed, tilting her head to one side as she considered him with jewel-bright eyes. "Are you afraid of disappointing him?"

Niles grimaced. She was too damn observant. "What's a kid like you doing out here unattended anyway," he quipped, dodging her accusation. "Shouldn't you be at a tea party or something?"

Elise heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Violin practice, actually," she admitted. "I expect they'll catch me in time for etiquette lessons."

Niles leaned against the wall, cocking an eyebrow. "Skipping out like you skipped the council meetings? But you like music," he shrugged. "You perform at every festival."

"But practice is so booooring! It's always the same exercises over and over until my fingers fall off. A proper lady is taught to make music only so that she may entertain her guests," Elise parroted, mimicking the stuffy tone of her tutor. "They just want to mold me into more valuable marriage material! Can you believe that? At least _you_ don't have to worry about proposals!"

Niles smiled grimly. Someone as lowborn as him would never be a part of that world no matter how much training he endured, it was true. At least the begetting of heirs would fall to King Xander first, so his siblings would not be married off as quickly. It was fortunate that Lord Leo wasn't wearing the crown. It bought them more time together.

"Besides all the thieving and killing I do, I'm a skilled tracker. I can pick a lock or a pocket, I can shoot a bull's eye in the dark by sound alone, and I can tie ten different kinds of knots with my eye closed. Think any of those count as marriageable qualities?" Niles shot her a crooked grin.

Elise tossed her head, adopting an air of haughtiness not unlike her big sister. "Not _boring_ enough. Do you even play an instrument, Niles?"

"I play a lot of skin flute," Niles snickered under his breath so she wouldn't hear. 

"Can you waltz? Can you cross-stitch? I can embroider as fast as I can suture," Elise continued. "Bet I can stitch your name into all your clothes!"

"Change that to curse words and Jakob's clothes, and you've caught my interest," Niles grinned.

Elise snorted. "Okay, how about this – I can give you some remedial healing lessons later, if you can sneak me outside the castle walls."

"You don't need my help with that. I know you know where the tunnels run. You just want a scapegoat in case you get caught," Niles smirked. "No thanks. How about I take you up to the ramparts, and I show you how to spit on people walking below," he offered.

"Yay! Deal!" Elise cheered.

She primly offered her hand. Niles took it with an exaggerated bow, and helped her off the garden wall.

The defensive walls surrounding Krakenburg spiraled dizzyingly upward toward the skies of Windmire, bleak and cloudy as usual. He tossed his cloak over her head to hide her distinctive hair, and the two dashed up the winding stone steps, Elise giggling all the way up. They sheltered beneath a parapet, faces crowded close to peer out through the narrow gap intended for archers.

"You know, you're nicer than you used to be," Elise observed suddenly. "You pushed me to study harder, but you never used to play with me. Prickly as a porcupine, you called yourself once!"

"Shut up, milady," Niles grumbled, jostling her with a gentle elbow. "They'll hear you. Keep your head low and follow your target with your eyes until they walk into range. Get your shot ready."

The two of them watched a group of unwitting courtiers on a promenade in the gardens below. The rich had nothing better to do with their time than stand around talking to each other and hope to be favored by the royal family, it seemed. Elise cleared her throat as instructed, puffed her cheeks out with air, and silently pointed at one noble who was sporting a comically floppy hat with a griffin feather that wobbled every time he laughed. How perfectly obnoxious. Niles bared his teeth in a grin.

"Now arch your neck back," Niles whispered. "When you shoot, you're gonna snap your head forward, and really put your back into it. That's how you get distance. Give it all you've got, milady."

With cheeks puffed like a chipmunk, Elise spat with all the strength she could muster. Not bad for a first try. Niles shoved her head down out of sight just as the indignant squawk rent the air below them. Shouts of consternation rang out in the courtyard while Elise collapsed into a fit of giggles, stifling her peals of laughter with the cloak. Her enthusiasm was infectious.

"See, you have the ruthless aim of a true sniper. If you ever get bored of propriety, I can show you some more tricks to have some fun around this stuck-up place," Niles grinned proudly and ruffled her hair. "And now if you meet a suitor you don't like, you can just spit in his face. See how marriageable he thinks _that_ is."

"Okay, hee hee! That'll show 'em! You better not skip out on your healer lessons, then," Elise retorted, wagging her finger. "I'll have you physicking in no time! Leo will be sooo impressed, I bet he'll give you a big sloppy ki—"

"Someone's coming up the stairs," Niles interrupted, crooked grin tugging at the corner of his mouth as he nudged Elise. It was hard not to have a soft spot for her – she was like the kid sister he never had growing up. He was grateful, in a twisted sort of way, that Leo had Elise instead. It was better that way. "C'mon, run!"

The pair scrambled to their feet and made a mad dash for the far side of the wall, whooping and laughing as they went.

* * *

**Camilla**

Lord Leo was fond of wine with meals, as was the Nohrian custom. Niles would always indulge him, but only at his own cautious pace. It only took one mistake, after all. So even on a festival night such as this, Niles expected to find himself the last man standing. Once Lady Elise had reluctantly retired to bed, Lady Camilla and Lord Leo slipped away from the courtyard to continue their revelry in the private family quarters with their faithful retainers in tow. As the night dragged on, Leo's head sank to the table and had not risen again. Niles remained protectively close, even among trusted company.

Beruka alone remained sober, the stone faced sentry lurking in the shadows of the hallway with axe in hand. Nearby on the ornate settee Odin and Selena snored softly on each others' shoulders, their ever-louder bickering having long faded into companionable slumber. For all that he liked to encourage others to release their inhibitions, Niles rarely partook in enough drink to affect his control of the situation. Lady Camilla, of course, was the one Nohrian just as wary as Niles when it came to giving up control. Cynical gazes met over glasses with a world-weary familiarity. Niles had a suspicion that was still her first drink she was finishing off, carefully guarded all those hours in the public eye. He hadn't seen her take another, after all.

Niles leaned over to refill Camilla's wineglass, his hand steady as ever, as Camilla slid gracefully from her seat to retrieve a quilt from the cabinet. She came to gently arrange the blanket over Leo's thin shoulders, fussing over his messy hair until she was satisfied. Something tightened hot in his chest at the domestic sight.

"There you go again, mothering everything you can get your paws on," Niles drawled. He couldn't quite hold back the bitterness from his words. "Cheers to old habits that die hard."

Camilla regarded the glass he handed her as though it were some hapless insect crushed beneath her boot heel. She knew him well enough by now to know he posed no threat, but he also knew she refused to take drinks from men on principle. There was a brief flicker of conflict in her expression, but her pride won out over her caution.

"You will curb your tongue or I'll dispose of it," Camilla said coolly, taking a slow and deliberate sip. "I was more of a mother to Leo than the woman who birthed him."

Niles smiled mirthlessly and returned to his own wine, relaxing his shoulders. She would not be intimidated by the likes of him, which he also expected.

"I don't doubt it. It's sweet that you still treat him like a child. Really harmless and endearing, even."

Camilla sighed and crossed her long legs, looking thoroughly unimpressed. "Haven't we been over this before, Niles? You're not going to antagonize me into flogging you simply because you don't know how to express your own repressed feelings in a healthy way. I sincerely hope for my brother's sake that you aren't this reticent behind closed doors."

Niles laughed. Camilla's acerbic wit was ruthless, knife at his throat at the slightest provocation. Her smiles were as razor sharp as Leo's, honed by the same den of vipers they all grew up in. But she had known before anyone else that he and Leo were together, and she kept it to herself, even if the secret was not as closely guarded now as it had been during the war. He was glad to have her on their side. He thought she probably knew that too.

"Maybe I'm just jealous," he mused, gaze wandering to Leo with his head buried in his arms. "And taking it out on you, again."

"Jealous of me? Or of him?" Camilla inquired, lips quirked into a catlike grin. "Do you also yearn to be showered in the affection you were cruelly denied in your childhood? I can get you a blanket and tuck you in, too – you just have to beg for it."

Niles scoffed. "I'd wager I'm older than you are, milady. I'm not gonna call you Mommy no matter how much you'd like that."

"Oho, feeling feisty, are we? Then allow me to hazard a guess – you're jealous that I show my love for Leo in public, whereas you feel obligated to keep your feelings private to protect his reputation," Camilla hummed, inspecting her nails. "Based on our father's stellar example, I don't think you really need concern yourself with discretion, sweetie."

"…He deserves better than the likes of me," Niles finally admitted after a long pause. Camilla's aim was as impeccable as always, straight for his jugular. He took a longer swig of his wine than he'd intended to. It burned down his throat like acid, pooling hot in his gut like shame. "Someone whose hands aren't as stained as mine. He's gonna work himself to death at this rate, for a thankless country that resists him at every opportunity. I don't want to be another reason people drag his name through the mud."

"If you measure solely by wealth and status, then certainly, Leo could select a more strategic partner for a political advantage," Camilla shrugged dismissively. "And I'm sure he's considered it from a tactical standpoint, as have I. We all have proposals lined up with fancier pedigrees than yours. He could obtain more power to leverage for his projects, and better establish himself as a force of good."

"Y'know, normally I'd thank you for rubbing salt in my wounds," Niles muttered sourly. "But I've had better."

" _But_ ," Camilla interjected. "Leo, and Elise and I as well, our mothers were the lowest of the low. And still we stand in direct line for the throne today. We had to fight tooth and nail just to survive to adulthood. You don't think Leo deserves someone who would fight like that to keep him, rather than use him for his status? You don't think he places value in the trust you've earned, compared to a stranger with their own agenda? Your loyalty to him above all else makes you a powerful asset, as well. Don't sell yourself short, Niles."

Niles squinted at Camilla suspiciously, but there were no traces of mockery in the stare she leveled at him. She sipped her wine and waited.

"You're serious, aren't you," he muttered. "You're in favor of this? Of me… courting Leo? Officially?"

"Poor thing, have you really talked yourself into giving your beloved's hand away to the first pretty little princess who asks?" Camilla smiled thinly. "Leo was born a bastard, but the king legitimized him. The king's word is all that matters for succession. There's no law that states you have to bear him an heir to marry him, Niles."

"Marriage," Niles sputtered. He stared at Leo, passed out beside him, then back at Camilla. His face flushed, and he reached directly for the wine bottle, abandoning his glass. "Are you trying to get me to propose to your brother?"

Camilla raised her eyebrow. "Is that not the logical step, if you don't want the court to regard you as another scandalous affair? A surrogate mother would be a perfectly viable option for you two, if you didn't simply adopt as I intend to. Surely the man who pledged his life in service to the crown and drank a goblet of his liege's blood to seal the pact isn't having commitment issues _now_. Don't wait too long or you'll miss your only chance."

"You're certainly a chatty drunk tonight," Niles bristled.

He glanced at Leo again, soft and sleeping, and he swore he could hear his treacherous, hopeful heartbeat stuttering faster. Hope was too painful a burden to bear. He crushed it down, turning back to the banter he was more comfortable with. It had been a long time since he'd last drank wine from the bottle, but tonight was a night for falling back on old habits.

"What's your angle, anyway?" Niles muttered as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "It's not like you're overly fond of me. Why do you care?"

"Oh, I'm fond of you in my own way. You're fun to play with. But it's really for the sake of Leo finally having someone who dotes on him almost as much as I do," Camilla stated, painted lips curving into a dangerous smile. Under her breath, she added, "It's bad enough to have one brother in a lavender marriage, I can't bear the thought of both of them."

Niles chuckled. "How very selfless of you to advocate for love. Truly, you are a shining beacon of charity, and not at all an impatient auntie eager for little nieces and nephews to spoil rotten."

"There are certainly side perks," Camilla snorted. "But in all truthfulness… if we have learned nothing else from all the ghastly tragedy that has haunted this family, let it be to keep our loved ones as close as we can for as long as we can. They may be snatched away from us without warning at any time."

"Lady Azura," Niles guessed.

"Yes."

Camilla's gaze turned distant. Niles watched on as Camilla readjusted Leo's headband before it slipped over his eyes, then tucked the blanket more snugly around his thin frame. Niles let Camilla fuss over her brother without interrupting as she continued. Leo needed the extra rest.

"...Corrin and Elise still believe Azura will come back someday. The poor dears don't know any better."

"They never found a body," Niles shrugged. "Maybe it's a kindness to let them keep hoping."

"Here's to being cruel to be kind, then," Camilla smiled bitterly. "Our specialty."

Niles clinked the bottle against her glass in a mockery of a toast. They drank in comfortable silence for a time longer, watching as night gave way to a new dawn.

* * *

**Xander**

It was nothing personal that sent Niles trudging deeper and deeper into the cold, gloomy bowels of Krakenburg, although it certainly felt like some sort of cosmic punishment.

The soldiers had drawn lots to fill the increased security detail ordered in the wake of Garon's funeral. The royals buried their dead deep beneath their ancestral castle, and a flood of rumors on the street spoke of all the treasure waiting to be looted. Niles bared his teeth and spat at the torch, causing the flame to gutter and spit back. Perhaps he was simply resentful now that he knew there really were treasures in the burial chambers, tasteless displays of frivolity that they were. As if bejeweling a skeleton and decking it out in finer robes than he'd ever afford in his lifetime would grant it some glory in the afterlife, when there were still people aboveground starving.

Niles had no personal qualms about grave robbing, especially when it came to looting the rotting bones of nobility who never thought to spread their wealth to those who needed it. Still, he did not envy any luckless thief who triggered the Stoneborn. At least it would be a swift death compared to the oubliette, should they be captured alive.

Niles shifted his weight idly, tapping the toe of his boot against the stones just to make a small echo in the cavernous silence. As a show of good faith, he hadn't traded the night shift for something more savory, but part of him wished he weren't so committed to Lord Leo's ideals of fairness. Dark damp holes didn't faze him, but the old Niles would never have consented to such a claustrophobic post with no clear exit strategy.

Next on Niles's litany of complaints was that guard duty in the catacombs was mind-numbingly boring. Without the sky to gauge the passage of time, it was like being stationed in pitch black night for eternity, with only an enchanted torch to see by. He wouldn't know when his shift ended until the next guard came to relieve him. He was about to pull out a pack of lewd playing cards to pass the hours when he caught the sound of approaching boot steps.

Niles's hand hovered calmly over the hilt of his knife. His arrows would be next to useless in such closed quarters, but his marksmanship with a throwing knife was nothing to scoff at either. "Identify yourself," he called simply. It was more warning than a thief deserved.

"At ease, Niles," came a sonorous, familiar baritone. "I've merely come to pay my respects. Though I hardly expected I'd find you here, of all places."

Niles straightened instinctively, a shiver chasing down his spine as shadows slithered back and revealed the approaching figure. This was not his replacement. He was unaccompanied and unarmed, dressed in plainclothes with a hood obscuring his golden curls, but there was no hiding the towering height and breadth of King Xander.

Niles bowed his head as Xander passed him. The king could barely fit in the passage without bumping his head on the ceiling. The torch flickered and danced in wild protest as Xander jostled against it. If it were anyone else, Niles might have made a quip about his size, but there was an awkward tension between the two of them without Leo present to mitigate it. Niles remained wary of Xander, reasonably so – the newly crowned king of Nohr was as powerful as he was obstinate. And still Leo idolized him, which provided further kindling for the smoldering embers of resentment.

Xander approached Garon's walled-off chamber at the end of the hall. When Xander chanced a solemn glance over his shoulder, Niles was caught openly staring. Internally he winced. Now he was going to get a lecture from the royal windbag himself.

"You must think me a hypocrite, paying my respects in the dead of night," Xander remarked. "Perhaps I am. Every son of Nohr is taught to honor his father, without the judgment of right or wrong, and yet I find my heart burdened with conflict since his passing."

"I wouldn't know anything about that, your majesty."

Niles stared hard at the guttering flame of the torch, avoiding eye contact. He already missed the oppressive silence of the empty catacombs. Anything would be better than this awkward conversation.

"Is that so? I am afraid I do not know anything of your father," Xander stated tactfully. He raised a curious eyebrow as Niles barked a laugh.

"Me neither," Niles sneered. "The bastard who spawned me ditched my mother before I was born, and if he's still alive out there, I'd kill him myself."

"Hm," Xander replied, his mild expression remaining at a polite neutral. "And your mother?" He inquired, dark eyes betraying nothing.

"Dead. But not before she abandoned me too, so there's no love lost there," Niles shrugged.

Even if he thought the man to be an insufferable stick-in-the-mud, Xander had demonstrated on the battlefield that his lofty ideals were more than just pretty words. Niles wasn't the only one forced to do unsavory things for the sake of survival. He could at least respect that enough to be honest.

"…I see. My condolences, then. Grief can be a complicated matter," Xander sighed. "There are always good memories mixed in with the bad. It becomes difficult to find one's conviction and hold onto it, without… regret. I have suffered many losses in the past, and still I wonder if there had not been a way to avert my father being one of them. You may not believe me when I say this, but: he was a good man, once. And it is those happy memories I grieve for."

Niles shifted uncomfortably, holding his tongue. Regret was a sentiment wasted on him. Garon was a monster who got exactly what he deserved, in Niles's opinion. If anything, he deserved to suffer more for all the pain he'd caused.

"You seem to disagree," Xander remarked, a quirk of amusement tugging at the corner of his stern mouth. "I would remind you that you have permission to speak candidly in my presence without fear of retribution. While I have my reservations about the arrangement, I am well aware that you are more than a retainer to my brother. Titles and formality are not required among family."

Niles gaped at Xander. Leo told him about them. Camilla and Elise had guessed, but…

"Leave the past where it belongs, then," Niles blurted. "Dead is dead. Save your sympathy for people still alive."

To his surprise, Xander chuckled. As he took his place and knelt before Garon's burial chamber, he added lowly, "That sounds like something my brother would tell me, were he to speak his mind as freely as you. Perhaps his bluntness is rubbing off on you."

"Perhaps so," Niles replied, still dazed. 

As the king bowed his head in prayer, silence crept back between them. Niles stared down at his hands, listening to his pulse thrum too-quickly in his ears, trying to look anywhere but at the king's exposed back. Xander was putting trust in him, leaving himself open like that. It was as deliberate a move as anything Xander ever did, always acutely aware of his surroundings, always conscious of appearance. And Xander called him family.

Xander knew, and still called Niles family.

"On an… unrelated topic," Xander said lightly. Niles snapped to attention. "Thanks to Laslow, I do happen to know of an unusual merchant who deals in antiques with interesting magical history, including jewelry. Despite the recent rash of looting graves, her sources do seem to be legitimate, as far as my contacts are concerned."

Niles frowned, not comprehending. A chill draft pressed insistently against his clammy skin. He yanked his cloak more tightly around his shoulders as goosebumps prickled unpleasantly along his arms.

"Jewelry, milord? Are you asking me to investigate her?"

"No, this is merely hypothetical. If, for example, someone without any family heirlooms to his name wished to procure a ring suitable for a prince with an appreciation for magical artifacts… One might wish to keep her services in mind."

Niles could only nod, effectively silenced. He had not dared to imagine a scenario that ended in acceptance. The fact that he was alive at all after the war was uncharted territory for him, let alone... this. Despite everything he'd seen and somehow survived, life still found ways of surprising him.

**Author's Note:**

> god i missed nohr fam. happy five years


End file.
